Our next Open Day is
planned for Sunday 6 November, meeting at the Education
Centre for refreshments (feel free to bring a plate of
something to share if you can) at 2:30 pm before setting out
for a walk at 3 pm. Bring friends and family to our centre
to read, chat and look – all are most welcome. If you don't
have your own binoculars, the Education Centre has some for
you to borrow, and there are newly updated bird lists if you
are unfamiliar with the bird-life of Rietvlei. Telephone Pat
on 557-3748 or Barbara on 554-1455 for queries.

EVENING TALKS

We are combining with Friends of the
BCA for a talk on the Battle of Blaauwberg. In light of the
bi-centenary of the Battle of Blouberg in January 2006 the
Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area (BCA) will be
hosting a talk by Gary Thompson on the Battle on Tuesday
18th October, 7:30pm for 8pm . The meeting will be held at
the Cabin at Eerstesteen. Please contact Cindy Welch on 084
9201160 if you have queries.

A date for you to diarise : our last evening talk for 2005
(that time already!) is planned for Thursday 17th November,
19h30 for 20h00, which will combine our end of year social
with a report-back by the Students.

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

I have been attending the Ward 4 council meeting
representing the natural environment. The whole of the
Rietvlei PNE is included in this ward and is our main focus
to manage properly. To enable the municipality to do
this, an amount of R20 000.00 (operational budget) & R50
000.00 (capital budget) was proposed for alien clearing and
fencing respectively for the 2006/7 budget of next year.
Both these actions are labour intensive and skills can be
taught for those people who are in need of jobs.

Nelis Visagie

RESERVE NEWS:

•

Spring has come to
Rietvlei! by Kareemah Jacobs

Great news! A vast number of plant species have been
added for Rietvlei this year. The list is currently
at 215! Of the 215, 5 plant species are listed in
the Red Data Book, i.e. they are threatened with
extinction. Three of these are quite common at
Rietvlei: Hermannia pinnata (poproos), Arctotis
stoechadifolia (Gousblom) and Psoralea repens . The
latest addition is a beautiful vygie, Lampranthus
sociorum (RDB), near the Bird Hide Block. Since the
Bird Hide Block has been opened by alien clearing
and brush burning, a number of bulb species have
been seen, including Romulea obscura and Moraea
species. The list includes 13 beautiful Irid (bulb)
species! There are a number of pressed herbarium
specimens for all to see, in the Rietvlei Education
Centre.

So, the next time you visit Rietvlei, take a walk
through the Bird Hide Block, and you might come
across something new.

•

Fauna Introduction.
by Koos Retief

During September the City of Cape Town nature
conservation staff introduced two porcupines (
Hystrix africaeaustralis ) to the Rietvlei Wetland
Reserve. Porcupines are thought to have occurred
here naturally, but recently none have been seen.
The first porcupine was trapped on 12 September
outside the Tygerberg Nature Reserve (where it had
been causing a problem in a neighbouring resident's
garden) and released at Rietvlei on the same day.
The second one came from near Die Oog Nature Area,
Bergvliet, and was released on 29 September. Both
were released in Rietvlei's bird hide block and have
been dubbed "Asterix and Getafix". At Rietvlei,
these borrowing nocturnal rodents' main diet will
consist of Arum lily ( Zantedeschia aethiopica )
bulbs, but may include many other types of vegetable
matter as well. Signs of their presence in the field
will include detached q uills and evidence of
diggings.

COASTAL CLEANUP

Friends of Rietvlei joined in the International Coastal
Cleanup initiative by holding a beach cleanup at Rietvlei
Beach (opposite North & South Vleis off the R27) on Saturday
17 September. We filled 20 large garbage bags with various
types of litter and filled in data sheets that will be
forwarded via Marine and Coastal Management to The Ocean
Conservancy in the USA .

Our cleanup yielded a huge number of plastic bottle caps, by
far the biggest culprit at this time. No metal can-pulls
were found and considering what a problem these were in the
past, this is thanks to cans now having pull-tops that
remain attached to the cans. Very few glass bottles were
picked up and this is due to the increased emphasis on
recycling. So now, manufacturers of plastic bottles need to
develop lids that remain attached to the bottles. In
addition to plastic litter, we picked up discarded shoes, a
Tupperware mug and toothbrushes and items such as shampoo
bottles that probably washed up on the beach after having
been thrown into the sea from passing ships. It was a
beautiful day, and having done our duty, we sat on the newly
unlittered beach and enjoyed a picnic while enjoying the
scenic beauty of the sea with Table Mountain as a backdrop.
We hoped to see whales frolicking, but apart from a single
spout, saw no sign of these huge mammals. We did, however,
see a seal surfing in the waves.

In addition to our cleanup day, school groups from Marconi
Beam School and Ysterplaat Primary School , have come to do
beach cleanups as part of the initiatve. Friends of Rietvlei
assisted with bus transport and refreshments for these
cleanups.